Tag: Nick Thomas-Symonds

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received from (a) the Council of Europe, (b) the UN and (c) other international bodies on the UK’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dominic Raab

We have received no such formal representation. Ministry of Justice Ministers have met the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Jagland, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence de Greiff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of universal credit on the number of children in relative poverty.

Priti Patel

The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. We know that work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the current system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for workplace inspections by the Health and Safety Executive in the next four years.

Justin Tomlinson

HSE’s Spending Review 15 funding is based upon achieving growth in commercial income and delivery of planned efficiency savings which will enable HSE to seek to maintain current levels of its core regulatory activities including workplace inspections over the next four years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of the science budget in the period from 2010 to 2014 was spent on neurological research.

Joseph Johnson

The information is not available in the form requested, however the UK Health Research Analysis 2014 (published by UK Clinical Research Collaboration, 2015) shows that in 2014 combined UK government expenditure on neurological research, including spend from the Research Councils and Devolved Administrations, was £131 million. This accounted for around 11 per cent of the total £1.2 billion government spend reported across all areas of health research in the period. The report is available at www.hrcsonline.net/pages/uk-health-research-analysis-2014.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost was of transferring the services previously provided by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council after the GSCC was abolished in 2012.

Alistair Burt

The function for the regulation of social workers in England was transferred from the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 August 2012.

The final set of accounts from the GSCC show that the total cost to the public purse of closing down the Council was £16.5 million. The HCPC also received £1.4 million to support it take on the functions for the regulation of social workers in England. Therefore, the total cost was £17.9 million.

On the assumption that the costs of the GSCC remained broadly similar, the Department estimated that the closure of the GSCC saves £13.5 million each year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the annual societal costs of occupational cancer.

Justin Tomlinson

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has carried out research on the total societal costs of new cases of work-related cancer diagnosed in Britain. This research is due to be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the survey published in November 2015 by Cancer Research UK which found that only 19 per cent of women aged from 50 to 64 were aware that the main purpose of the national cervical screening programme is to prevent cervical cancer.

Jane Ellison

NHS Screening Programmes are committed to giving people information to support them to make an informed choice about whether or not to take up the offer of screening. There is a group dedicated to researching, developing and evaluating information for those invited for screening, and service users and providers are involved at all stages.

The NHS Screening Programmes aim to provide clarity in the leaflets and information given to people.

The NHS Screening Programmes will continue to work closely with voluntary sector groups like Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and with NHS Choices to help raise awareness of the intentions of the programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what public awareness campaigns his Department has planned to improve awareness of work-related respiratory illness.

Justin Tomlinson

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the national regulator for health and safety at work, takes a lead role in raising awareness of work related respiratory diseases. HSE has run campaigns targeted at specific at-risk workers and/or their employers, a recent example being the ‘Beware Asbestos’ campaign which ran from October 2014 to March 2015 and focussed on tradespeople such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers. HSE has also supported other organisations such as the British Occupational Hygiene Society to develop its ‘Breathe Freely’ campaign targeted at work in the construction industry.

HSE has recently published a new strategy for the GB health and safety system called ‘Helping Great Britain work well’. One of the six themes of the strategy is ‘Tackling ill health’ which will include long-term and coordinated action across all sectors, bringing in additional partners such as the NHS and others to support the substantial behaviour change and awareness programmes that will be required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to ensure improved risk assessment training and a more effective reporting culture for military training exercises.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence views the risk assessment process as a critical component of safety management. Defence already undertakes specific risk assessment training either under the auspices of general training units or by specialist unit safety staff. Some online risk assessment training is also available via the Defence Learning Environment.

The Defence Safety Review which reported to the Defence Board in April 2016 made a number of specific recommendations concerning the way in which Defence could continually improve in terms of its reporting, analysis and exploitation of safety data. The Defence Safety Authority is addressing these recommendations and in particular the need to instil a culture of proactive safety reporting across all aspects of Defence activity, including training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans for the Dementia Research Institute to conduct research into Parkinson’s dementia.

Joseph Johnson

The Prime Minister announced up to £150 million for the UK’s first Dementia Research Institute on 24 November. The institute will cover the full spectrum of discovery science into age-related neurodegenerative diseases that progress to dementia, including Parkinson’s Disease.

Development of the Dementia Research Institute will be led by the Medical Research Council (MRC). In 2016 the MRC will open a competitive process to identify a host for the institute and lead the search for its director.